Horoscope Fail

From a freebee magazine I picked up in NY in December...

SAGITTARIUS - Hey, are you finished yet? It doesn't matter that I couldn't possibly know what it is you haven't finished - I'm pretty sure there's something you haven't finished and it's driving you crazy. Also, I'm pretty sure you know you'll be happier if you just get off your ass and finish the thing, but something is tying you down. Damn it, Scorpio. If not now, when?

Scorpio? I thought this was the Sag horoscope... hmm...

Political Science Fail

"Politicians strive to make pubic policy..."

From my roommate's polysci paper. Good thing she had me read it. She used the word "pubic" instead of "public" six times. Spell check isn't going to catch that.

Misplaced Modifier Fail

Seen on Craig's List

Black kids' furniture for sale! cheap!

Hmm... why can't white kids use this furniture? Or Asian kids? Or Hispanic kids?

DUIN Spring 2009 Fail 7

Publications should really pick a style so things like dates of events are consistent throughout. I think DUIN's style is inconsistency.

DUIN Spring 2009 Fail 6

My favorite mistake on this page is at the bottom in the "choose your own adventure" part. Nerve-wracking. Haha.

DUIN Spring 2009 Fail 5

Ok, this one is a little bit tricky. The Drake Relays is a singular name given to a whole weekend of events, despite the fact that the world "relays" is plural. As far as agreement goes, it should be singular.

DUIN Spring 2009 Fail 4

These grammar errors burn my eyes.

DUIN Spring 2009 Fail 3

Nothing says "I don't want to do real work" like interviewing a member of the staff.

DUIN Spring 2009 Fail 2

Letter from the editor. Tsk, tsk.

DUIN spring 2009 Fail

I think it's particularly classy when you misspell a word on the back cover of your magazine... even better when you're trying to recruit staffers.

BlueView Announcement Fail

There seems to be a strange "that" thrown in there.

Polar Bear Fail

Swimd? Try swam.

Status Fail

At least he's aware that he needs grammAr help.

Google Results Fail

SociAlogy? Yikes...

Academic Calendar Fail

Tsk, tsk. No comma before "Jr."

Lease Fail

From the fine print on my lease...

"Tenants and their guests are prohibited FORM smoking..."

Nice one.

Press Release Fail II

From the Drake.edu website. I didn't know the relays was the third=largest track and field event in the world.

Jackhammer Fail

Yeah, watch out for those jackhammers. I realize this isn't really a grammar issue, but it's still one of those hilarious editorial decisions that just makes your day.

Press Release Fail

From a press release on Drake's website. I really hope Bryson's mom didn't graduate in 193. Oldest alum ever.

Facebook Fail III

I couldn't help but laugh when I noticed that this girl used the wrong "to" (should be too), skipped on the apostrophe in "im" ... and, here's the kicker, misspelled "retarted" and "dunk."

Craigslist Fail II

Audemen? I've never seen a word so horribly misspelled.

Craigslist Fail I

Craigslist is kind of an easy target, but I couldn't help myself. I love angry messages that are grammatically incorrect. In this person's case, he/she didn't know the difference between plurals and possessives.

DUIN Fail III

The DUIN staff apparently doesn't know how to use semicolons properly.

From the article "Where the green is at" on page 30:

"A 'green product' is defined as something that is made, and shipped, environmentally friendly; meaning no airplanes or trucks spewing fumes to pollute the Earth."

Semicolons are used to connect TWO INDEPENDENT CLAUSES. "Meaning no airplanes or trucks spewing fumes to pollute the Earth" isn't independent because it relies on the first half of the sentence to get its meaning across.

IM Convo Fail

From an online friend who shall remain nameless:

"first we went out to dinner than we went to see watchmen"

The word "than" implies a comparison. "Then," on the other hand, refers to time.

DUIN Fail II

From the DUIN Survey

"Where did the name Olmsted come from anyways?"

"Anyways" kills me. It always has and it always will. There's nothing plural about an anyway. There is only one. ANYWAY.

Blackboard Fail

However, I think that THERE reference that "the dogs try to take over the mouth of the investigation hound by filling it with food so he'll stop asking questions" is very political.

AHHH! THERE reference? NO! THEIR reference!

Flyer Fail

DUIN Fail

Sad... letter from the editor and all.

Maya Angelou Fail

You Know Why The Caged Bird Signs? Really, I bet I know why the caged bird SINGS.

INF Fail

DWV Fail

Inman Fail

TV Guide Fail

"...when the Suarez family try..." should be "...when the Suarez family tries..."

TIME Fail

Whoa... busted, Time! 8-year-olds shouldn't be possessive.

Realtor Fail

Ok, I shamelessly stole this off the internet, but I really couldn't resist.



I guess while I'm here I could also point out the following...
First sentence:
1. "dont" needs an apostrophe.
2. It's posing a question and should therefore end with a question mark.

Second sentence:
1. "this" - should be capitalized
2. "and look at the price!" should be set off with an em dash and not a hyphen

Third sentence:
1. "Near new and down a quiet Cul De Sac" - The wording is awkward (change to "Fairly new," maybe?).
2. "Cul De Sac" is hyphenated and not capitalized.
3. "North" - not capitalized
4. Not a full sentence

Fourth sentence:
1. "dont" needs an apostrophe
2. Needs end punctuation after "again"

Another Facebook Fail

"Him" should be "he"

MSNBC

Facebook flub

Would HAVE WOULD HAVE WOULD HAVE WOULD HAVE!

Classmate goof

"Word choice was trying to hard. All these places are expensive."

- A classmate's comment on an article

Should be: "word choice was trying TOO hard"

ADPi Fail